‘Community’ Season 4 Premiere Delayed, Possibly Moving Off Fridays

Streets behind! For those of us anxiously awaiting the fourth season of NBC's 'Community,' and the first under new show-runners Moses Port and David Gurarascio, the wait just got a little longer. Details are still pouring in, but it seems NBC has reneged on its plans to premiere both 'Community' season 4 and 'Whitney' season 2 on October 19, potentially taking either comedy off of Friday as well. But why would NBC make such a last-minute change, and when will we get our beloved 'Community?'

Disappointing, yet perplexing news tonight, as we've just learned that NBC may be pulling 'Community' (and 'Whitney') from its October 19 premiere, leaving it uncertain when the Greendale gang will return. Vulture editor Joe Adalian first confirmed the news via his Twitter, adding that the decision to move either show was based on marketing, not either show's content. "Insiders say network felt it needed more [time] to market," says the journalist.

Interestingly, Vulture theorized something like this might happen as early as a month ago, noting that NBC might instead choose to use either 'Community' or 'Whitney' to fill programming holes at a later date, either on Friday as planned, or on a different night of the week. 'Community' airing on a different night would certainly seem good news to fans worried that season 4's thirteen-episode run might be the last, particularly with Friday's notoriously difficult ratings.

UPDATE - NBC has now issued an official statement on the move:

Given the success we’vehad for the past four weeks – including winning the first week of the season in A18-49 – we’ve decided to continue to concentrate our promotional strength on our new NBC shows that are scheduled Monday through Wednesday and have therefore decided to hold COMMUNITY and WHITNEY from their previously announced premieres of October 19th.

Without having to launch these comedies on Friday at this time, we can keep our promotion focused on earlier in the week -- plus we will have both comedies in our back pocket if we need to make any schedule changes on those nights. When we have a better idea of viewing patterns in the next few weeks, we will announce new season premieres of WHITNEY and COMMUNITY.

Details are continuing to develop, so keep it here for the latest on when 'Community' season 4 will premiere and let us know how you feel in the comments!